Who are Falun Gong?



Truthfulness, compassion, tolerance. It's difficult to argue against these ideals. But the Chinese government do.
They are the watchwords of Falun Gong, a Chinese movement stemming from the ancient practice of meditation and exercise of Qigong. Started in 1992, it spread so quickly, its membership running into millions, that the government saw it as a dissident movement and the persecution began.
Among them are the Falun Gong artists, who are having major exhibitions in the West. There are two in London and two in Scotland, in Dundee and Aberdeen, with 40 works displayed. The New York Art Centre has assembled 61 works.
These are highly figurative artists and most of the works, visitors are told, are prints because of the difficulty of transport. But it's impossible to ignore the way the paintings glow with the certainty and belief of the artist, as well as a high technical ability. The faces catch and hold the attention, and, at best, can be reminiscent of the power of an El Greco face.
Many of the artists' work is concentrated on the imprisonment and torture inflicted on Falun Gong members since 1999, when it was outlawed,and since when an estimated 3000 have died in prison. The East Asian team of the Amnesty International international secretariat confirms this persecution, adding that it has grown greatly since the Olympic Games were held in Bejing. This is attributed to a growing feeling of insecurity in the Chinese government because of the opening up to global influences, even though they are now seen as one of the major economic powers. Perhaps that growing power in the world is one reason why little is known or heard either of Falun Gong or its artists and the unrelenting torture and rape in the prison cells of its members.
The paintings, seen in one exhibition, can unexpectedly hit the heart. An oil on canvas, by Xiqiang Dong, "My Son", has a mother's eyes peering into ours, asking why. In one arm she holds the dead body of her son and in the other a medical release slip. Prisoners are usually sent to die at home.
Another oil on canvas by Xiaoping Chen shows a young woman singing to her captor, drawn from the story of an American woman who supported Falun Gong and was arrested in Tiananmen Square
Yuan Li's "A Tragedy in China" shows a young woman sitting on a bed with her dead husband beside her with in one hand a torn, unsigned paper that reads "brainwashing papers" with his ankles still in iron hackles and with a wounded, bloodstained abdomen.
Not all deal with the persecution. Xiqiang Dong's "After the Parade" shows a woman gazing in fulfilment after the days' events, wearing traditional clothing, with a lotus flower cupped in her hand. Falun Gong followers have been returning to their roots, going back to the time before Communist rule and searching for the renewal of their proud and ancient culture.
But they have a hard fight ahead, in which many are likely to die. There are also reports of a massive trade in transplanted organs from victims, hard to verify, but which are under intense investigation. It is a huge industry in China. Amnesty International neither discount nor confirm them, but the European Parliament Vice President, Edward McMillan Scott, has condemned it saying there is enough circumstantial evidence to alert the international community to what amounts to genocide.
Amnesty International finds there is little international attention focused on this and on the high level of persecution in China of Falun Gong. Guards are given forms for each prisoner with instructions to get them to sign to their guilt, motivating guards to abuse the prisoners in any way they want.
In the past two years, there has been an increase in the crackdown on human rights in China, and no let up in the persecution of Falun Gong both before and after the Olympics. There was a very high level of persecution last year, according to Amnesty International, and the growing fear in the government of groups claiming freedom is likely to lead to higher levels this year.
The persecutions in 1999 brought with it accusations by the government of conspiracy with the US. But it is now the freedom of the movement which the Chinese government fears. With the artists now exhibiting freely in the West and with its own art organisation in Britain and an application for charitable status, Falun Gong and its art is now likely to thrive overseas, at least. When will the Chinese follow and stop the persecution?